From left, NHL draft prospects Jonathan Drouin, Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones and Darnell Nurse pose on the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building in New York this week. The draft is Sunday at the Devils’ arena in Newark, N.J.

NEW YORK — In most years, Seth Jones or Jonathan Drouin would have been the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft. But this isn’t like most years in the draft.

Not since the now legendary draft of 2003 — when Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Marc-Andre Fleury, Eric Staal and Ryan Suter were selected — has a draft been considered as deep as the class that will be selected Sunday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The Avalanche owns the first pick, but a handful of teams below it are sure to spout the usual “We can’t believe this kid was still available” line after they select. Thing is, they will have a lot of justification for saying that.

“Anybody trying to get the order of this year’s draft — good luck with that,” said Dan Marr, the director of NHL Central Scouting. “There are many quality players at the high end of the draft. This does compare to (2003). It’s very deep.”

There is something of a public pecking order to the top three of the draft. Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy of the Avs are on record saying they are leaning strongly toward selecting Halifax Mooseheads center Nathan MacKinnon if they pick first. The possibility of a trade exists until the pick is made, but Sakic reiterated Friday that things remain quiet on the trade front.

That would leave Jones and Drouin to other teams. Florida is scheduled to pick second and Tampa Bay third.

Jones, a 6-foot-4 defenseman who lived eight years in the Denver area, said he hasn’t thought about playing for the Avalanche as much as he used to, in light of recent reports.

“That’s human nature, to try to find out who you’re going to be drafted by,” Jones said Friday during a gathering of top draft prospects overlooking the Hudson River. “But I know I can’t control that. It’s just kind of a waiting game.”

Drouin, MacKinnon’s teammate on Halifax’s Memorial Cup-winning team, has seen the statements of Sakic and Roy as well.

“But you never know what might happen,” Drouin said. “I’ll be happy for Nate if he goes No. 1 and the same with Seth, and I think they would feel the same for me if I did. Obviously, this relationship with Nate I’ve had, as a teammate, is probably going to end soon.”

Drouin, who posted 105 points in 49 games for Halifax last season, “has the most talent of anyone in the draft,” MacKinnon said. But there are concerns about his size (5-11, 176 pounds). Still, MacKinnon is thought by most scouts to be just a bit more desirable as a long-term prospect.

“It would be an honor to play for such great former players like Joe and Patrick,” Drouin said. “But like everyone here says, we can’t control where we’re going. It’s just an honor to be thought of so highly regardless, and it’ll be great to go to any NHL team.”

Four assistant basketball coaches at Division I schools and a top Adidas executive were among 10 people charged Tuesday with crimes including bribery and fraud as part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.

CenturyLink, the telecommunications company that ended its sponsorship agreement with Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall because of his protests during the national anthem last year, said it will not terminate its agreement with current client Emmanuel Sanders.